Heart of the Family
by QueenKarin13
Summary: Grand Fisher was cleansed, and so were all the souls he devoured. So where do they all go now? The Soul Society of course. But one of those newly arrived souls has a deep connection with a certain substitute soul reaper. She is dead, but she is certainly not gone. NO PAIRINGS and NO ROMANCE outside of families. This is similar to but not exactly like my first fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Bleach.**

**Second fic! Just like my first one, I am doing absolutely no planning whatsoever for this, I'm just gonna spew all my ideas forth and then clean it up later. Reviews on ideas for this story are welcome because I might just put some of the good ones in. Like I said, I haven't planned this story out so you can help the plot indirectly with reviews. I'm not going to rely on my reviewers to write the story though. I haven't found another fic like this out there, so also review or PM me if you find one with this character in this place with NO PAIRINGS. I have a nice OC in this story but he is one of the few. It's hard to keep track otherwise.**

**This story occurs after Ichigo regains his powers in the Fullbring arc, aka after the anime was cancelled. (I have the hope it'll continue though.) I haven't kept up with the manga, so I might be making some stuff up that doesn't happen. Hope you enjoy! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

The woman awoke to the sounds of the morning. Birds were chirping, there was rustling in the nearby trees due to a warm breeze, and overall it was peaceful. When she sat up to look at her surroundings, she was in a clearing inside a massive forest with a town just barely visible some ways away. She sat on the lush, green grass for a few moments just enjoying the natural scene and breathing in the strange but pleasant sweetness in the air. It was somehow more... enriched... than normal air, if that made any sense. Nothing of any importance troubled her at that moment, and the woman was contented to just sit and relax for who knows how long.

But then she remembered.

It hit her like a storm, the panic she'd felt right before she came here (died?), the urge to protect something (someone orange?) precious to her. The last thing she remembered and uttered aloud before fainting from the memory of emotion was a name.

"Ichigo..."

**OoOoOoOoO**

_"ACHOOO!"_ An orange-haired man sneezed all over his breakfast, much to the upsetment of his younger sister across the table. It was a terrible, rainy Saturday morning and there was nothing to do, as the outdoor concert that the family had been planning to go to that day had been canceled due to the sudden weather.

"Ichigo, I worked especially hard on those eggs!" Yuzu pouted with her puppy dog expression. "It took so long to get them _perfectly_ sunny-side up like that, don't just sneeze on them!"

"She's right, a thank-you was all that was needed," Karin said before shoving some bacon in her mouth.

"Yeah, sorry about that Yuzu," Ichigo sniffed loudly. "I think I got some dust in my nose."

"Either that, or someone's talking about you somewhere!"

"MASAKI OUR BOY FINALLY HAS A LOVE LIFE!"

"Shut up Goat-face!"

**OoOoOoOoO**

Goro was a common man living in the third division of West Rukongai. He led a relatively simple and solitary life; he would wake up, eat breakfast, sell some of his pottery, eat lunch, take a nap, eat dinner, sleep, and repeat cycle. Goro was modest, kind, and basically a nobody. He lived on the border of a grand forest in a small, but cozy hut at the very edge of his town. He refused time and time again to become a soul reaper for reasons no one who lived near him could understand, because he had the spirit energy but refused to use it.

One unassuming day, he was about to start the second step in his daily routine. Goro usually ate breakfast in the clearing behind his house, as it was a very calming place. He would wind up meditating there with his zan- with his thoughts for at least an hour afterwards, even if he didn't mean to.

"Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows, only time..." the man hummed an old song to himself as he took his breakfast of bread and strawberries out to the clearing where the familiar trees and rocks greeted him, along with... a woman? But- she was passed out in a heap on the ground!

"Hey Miss! You okay? Miss, wake up!" Goro rushed over and shook her shoulder gently.

"Mmmm... whaaa?" Much to his relief, the lost soul awoke groggily and looked around. "Oh yes, this is the clearing from before. Though I feel like I'm forgetting something..." Then she noticed Goro's concerned look. "Oh hello there! I'm very sorry, I hope I haven't disturbed you!"

"Oh no ma'am, it's fine, it's fine, I was just coming here to eat my breakfast. I'm guessing you're new here?" At her confused look he elaborated. "Once you die you come here to the Soul Society. It's what you probably called heaven when you were alive." Goro helped the woman to her feet. "My town isn't far from here and it's not too big either, I'm sure we could find you a home to settle down in while you're here."

"Oh, well this information is all very sudden. I-I don't even know who I am!"

"None of us remember anything when we come here unless we have high spirit energy, or if we were too attached to parts of our lives to forget," said Goro sympathetically. "And even that's rare." There was a silence after that. "Pardon me, I haven't introduced myself, my name is Goro. Who might you be? It's okay if you don't remember your name, there are plenty of nice names to choose from if you've forgotten."

The woman thought for a minute on how to answer the man in front of her. When she couldn't recall her name she looked around for anything that might trigger her memory, and her eyes landed on Goro. Now that she actually looked, he was dressed in varying shades of brown, tan, and gray. He was neither bulky nor skinny, and he had a well-used basket hat. He looked like someone who could blend into the shadows even if there were none. The only real color came from the fruit on his breakfast, the red strawberries-

"Ichigo!" she burst out, suddenly remembering the name from the first time she'd awoken in the clearing.

"Ichigo? But that couldn't be your na-"

"No no! I need to find him, where is he? He was in danger!" The memories were coming back, but more in number than before. A smiling face- no, _three_ smiling faces, and a really goofy one too. And then a rainy day... Ichigo running to something...

"Woah there! Slow down Miss, why do you need to find Ichigo? If you're a fan that's one thing, but I think that young hero can handle himself from any danger," Goro said, getting very confused about why this woman needed to find the hero of the Winter War and the Soul Society.

"But my son was about to drown in the river!" Masaki said, growing desperate. If Goro was right and she was dead, then she had died saving her son or... it was too late. What if it _was_ too late? _No! I can't think like that, I need to find him! _Masaki failed to notice that Goro was staring at her wide-eyed with his jaw threating to fall off his face and his eyebrows trying to jump off his head.

"Your_ SON!?_"

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Long introduction right there. Remember, there are no unrealistic pairings or romance in this story, so Goro will stay single (to anyone who was worried about that). Reviews and ideas are welcome! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for your review Scarease. Like I said in the previous chapter, I haven't kept up with the manga, so let's just say for the sake of this fanfic that Masaki had given up her powers (like Isshin) and had become a normal soul by the time Grand Fisher got her, so her path to the Soul Society was that of a normal soul. I don't know if that happened or if it didn't or if it's a bad explanation, but I don't want to get too wrapped up in the science of the paths that the dead take, so I'm just going to cast Masaki as she was shown in the very beginning of Bleach as a kind mother. Thanks again, and I hope everyone enjoys! :)**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: Your _SON!?_

"Yes, my son! Now do you know how I can get home to Karakura Town? Please, I need to find him, I'm probably already too late!" Masaki's voice cracked on the last word and she collapsed onto the grass, sobbing with her head in her hands. It was the first time she'd ever broken down like this in her whole time as a mother. Up until now, her entire life with her wonderful family had been one lovely ride in heaven. Well not really if _this_ was heaven, but you get the point.

"Emm... Miss?" Goro stood awkwardly with his hands twitching in the air, not knowing if he should hug the woman, or pat her shoulder, or what. He'd never been much of a people person, especially with crying strangers. And she obviously didn't remember or know anything about the past ten years or so, so how do you go about explaining that her son was a hero who fought in a terrible war with lots of death!? This was exactly why he lived alone. He sighed and waited for a minute until her sobs had died down to the occasional sniffle.

"Miss, your son is still here," Goro said, then smiled down at her in what he felt was a comforting way, showing her that he meant what he said and Ichigo was still alive in the two realms, safe and sound. But Masaki's eyes just widened in horror.

"You mean he's dead and he's in heaven!?"

"No, no that's not what I meant at all!" Goro waved his arms around and sweatdropped. "I meant that his body and soul are still in existence! He's not _here_ here, Ichigo is in the world of the living with his- your family. Though I don't know what will happen if he finds you," said Goro, the thought just occurring to him, "-since you've been gone and dead and all for what, nine or ten years? Our town got that bit of information from visiting soul reapers. I guess you could say word gets around," Goro rubbed his head sheepishly at that last part.

"Oh, you're right," Masaki looked down sadly, but then snapped herself out of it and stood up with a determined glint in her eye. "Well, I may be dead but I am forever a wife and a mother, and I am not the sort to sit around here while my place is with my family!" She walked towards the edge of the clearing in long determined strides. Then she suddenly stopped and turned around with a curious expression.

"How do you go to the world of the living from here again?"

Goro sat down on a rock with a sigh and prepared to explain everything from the beginning. He set his plate aside, as breakfast would have to wait.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Hey dad, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah what is it?" came the serious reply. Ichigo turned towards his dad surprised. He hadn't been expecting the old goof to actually take him seriously.

"I've been getting this odd feeling lately, like someone's out there," Ichigo blurted. Then he bit his lip and immediately wished he hadn't said that. Now goat-face was going to start making jokes about pretty girls and whatnot and he would have to kick him in the face without getting a shred of information. Ichigo scowled and made as if to exit the living room when Isshin's words stopped him.

"I've been getting a similar feeling."

The orange-haired teen snapped his gaze back to his dad, eyes wide. "You think it's..."

"No."

"But-"

"No! We shouldn't get our hopes up for no reason," he gazed sadly up at the huge poster on their wall. "And besides, it's impossible."

"What's impossible dad?" Yuzu's voice came out of nowhere.

"Yuzu, I told you to keep quiet!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Karin!"

"Well there's no point in staying here," Karin replied, and the two girls popped around the corner of the hallway, where the wall had been hiding them from view.

"Karin, Yuzu, what were you doing there? Were you spying on us!?"

"No Ichigo, I mean maybe, I mean yes."

"Why?"

"Well you and goat-face are having a serious conversation, that's why!"

"Yeah, Karin's right Ichigo, we were concerned."

"Alright fine," their brother said, ignoring the looks Isshin was giving him. "I've been having this strange familiar feeling lately-"

"Oh my gosh me too!"

"Yeah, and me too."

"-and I think that it's familiar because every time I sense it..." Ichigo sighed. "Never mind, I need to take a walk, you guys talk," he made as if to go out the door to that one spot where he could think when Yuzu spoke.

"Does- doesn't it remind you of Mom?" Yuzu started sniffling in the silence that came next.

"It's almost as if," Isshin started, giving up on keeping any hopes down since the discussion had gone too far already, "It's almost as if Masaki's alive somewhere."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Well Miss, that's what happened while you were away," Goro finished after and hour, sucking all the spit from his mouth that came from excessive talking. Then at his stomach's loud command he dove into his breakfast and sent strawberry juice spraying everywhere.

"So basically, Ichigo became a soul reaper, he saved his friend from execution, he went into the land of the hollows and saved another friend, he defeated this Aizen person and lost his powers, then my son got them back and defeated another evil person?" Masaki summed up over the smacking and slurping from her companion.

"Yep, and he got really powerful along the way so he could protect everyone," Goro put yet another positive spin on his story. He'd been doing a lot of those to make the fights and near-deaths sound as mild as getting a paper cut, but even _then_ this woman was worried for Ichigo's health. And he was hoping with all his being that she didn't ask him how he knew so much about her son, because he knew that the "word gets around" excuse wasn't going to cut it this time. There was no way he was going to tell her about the biography the fans had been making and selling all the way down to district 68. No way. But her next question had nothing to do with Goro's concerns.

"Did- did he kill anyone?"

"Emm... Aizen went to prison, your son didn't kill him." It was truly an art, the art of twisting the truth and only saying half of it to glide around the main question. Ichigo had killed plenty of human-like hollows as well as real people, but by saying he didn't kill Aizen Goro had temporarily escaped the mom's reaction.

"Good. I can't imagine that beautiful smiling face of his ever killing someone. Ever."

"Umm... of course not! Course not, Miss," Goro nodded and lied through his teeth again, but it had to be done. Hopefully the guilt wouldn't crush him until he got this woman back to the world of the living, from which she had been taken too soon (in Goro's opinion). "Now then, if you want to reunite with your family we'll need to go through the main senkaimon in the Seireitei. It's a long journey without the flash-step of soul reapers so let's start now. We don't need much, seeing as you won't get hungry and I don't eat much anyway."

"All right then. Thank you very much... erm... Goro!"

"No problem at all Miss, I think it's about time I went on anoth- I mean my first adventure."

"It feels strange to be called Miss, Masaki is fine, Goro," she laughed for the first time since coming to the forest.

"Anything you say Miss."

**OoOoOoOoO**

**I think the intro dragged out into this chapter too. Well, at least it's over now and the journey will start in the next chapter! Tell me anything and everything about what you guys think. A little bit of Goro's backstory might come in too. Have you been catching the hints he's been leaving?**


	3. Chapter 3

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: "It's almost as if Masaki's alive somewhere."

"But that's impossible, MOM DIED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!" Ichigo yelled. "And it's all my fault-"

"ICHIGO. Stop blaming yourself for something outside your control!" Isshin said sternly. "Besides, Masaki is at peace now."

"But- Wait, what do you mean Mom's at peace?"

"I killed Grand Fisher quite a while ago when the Arrancar War was just beginning." There was silence. "Didn't I ever tell you?" Isshin cocked his head to the side with squinty eyes and goofy obliviousness.

"NO YOU DIDN'T YOU STUPID GOAT FACE!" Karin teamed up with her brother and they both imploded their dad's (remarkably unbreakable) face with twin thrusting kicks while Yuzu gasped in the background.

"My face..." Isshin whined while his hands felt the crater in his features, which was identical to the one his son had given him when Isshin had first revealed his identity as a soul reaper to him.

"Ichigo, Karin!" Yuzu chastised her siblings while they grumbled about "the giant idiot". "Don't do that, it breaks my heart to see you guys fighting."

"I'm glad to know that at least _one_ of my daughters cares about her dear ol' papa still! C'mere Yuzu I need a hug!" The two sobbed into each other's arms while Karin and Ichigo gazed on, unamused. Isshin's true facial features popped back into being after a while.

"But do you really think it's possible that Mom's alive?" Yuzu, Ichigo, and Karin asked at the same time but not in unison as the seriousness returned during the bit of silence after the commotion died down.

"Not exactly alive, but... more like _existing,_" Isshin said, one hand stroking his beard. But then he let his hand drop slowly as a thought occurred to him. "Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, we need to get going to the soul society right away."

**OoOoOoOoO**

They had finally passed out of Goro's district and were getting closer and closer to the Seireitei. As Masaki and Goro trekked through the forest with Goro leading and eating on the way, the sunlight filtered down warm and gentle, just enough to warm them and provide light but not enough so that the two were blinded. They made small talk about their favorite things (which Masaki completely remembered now), but nothing too deep or uncomfortable. Goro figured that the soul reapers would let them into the Seireitei and the world of the living no problem, considering the status that Ichigo's mom unknowingly now had because of her son's achievements. After who knows how much longer of just walking and chatting, Goro was met by a familiar sight and he smiled.

"There is is Miss, the Seireitei! You can tell because the buildings are different."

"I told you to call me Masaki," Masaki said, but her heart wasn't really in it as she observed the area before her. "I can tell it must be huge, but I can't see it all. Let's go, Goro!" and she started marching purposefully to the home of the soul reapers.

"No Miss, wait! Stop or you'll get crushed!" Goro frantically ran towards her and pulled her shoulder back in the nick of time as a huge wall came crashing down on where she had been moments ago.

"Oh my... you really saved me there."

"No problem Miss. No problem."

"How did you stop me in time though? I could've sworn you were farther back than that."

"Oh I just fla- sprinted very quickly! Yes, I'm quite fast."

"OH? YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME WITH THAT AND GET BY THIS GATE? WELL THINK AGAIN!" Goro and Masaki felt a mini earthquake under their feet as a giant crashed onto the ground beside them, sending up huge dust clouds and debris. "You must have very bad manners, coming uninvited and without a pass, and bragging about how you can beat me with your speed!" the giant said while pulling out two humongous axes which Masaki gasped at. "NOW WHO GOES THERE- wait... is that... GORO!?"

"Yeah Jidanbou, it's me, do you remember?"

"HAHAHAHAHA! OF COURSE I DO! How could I forget an old friend like you? I never forget my friends no matter how long we don't see each other! Not you, not Ich-"

"WEEEELLLL, Miss, this here's Jidanbou the gatekeeper of the Gate of Pure Spirits! He's big on manners, but a real nice guy once you get to know him."

"GORO YOU'RE SUCH A KIND MAN! JUST LIKE ICH-"

"THAAAANNNK you very much Jidanbou, but you know how many times I've told you not to get so emotional, it'll make you look weak and you'll be defeated as a proud man."

"HE BEAT ME AS A WARRIOR AND AS A MAN! ICH-"

"SOOOOO Jidanbou, I need to tell you something real quick," Goro said as he motioned for the giant to come down to his level. They started whispering about something, and Masaki was very confused. Why had Goro kept interrupting the gatekeeper with the giant deadly weapons? Is that how their friendship worked? Jidanbou standing up at his full height broke her thoughts and he smiled knowingly at Goro, who looked relieved. He had given Jidanbou a warning about watching his mouth.

"Well Miss, I'm sorry about that but I just needed to discuss something with my friend here real quick. Heh."

"OH YES!" Jidanbou said proudly. "I WILL NOT MENTION ICHIGO KUROSAKI OR ANYTHING ABOUT HOW HE EASILY DEFEATED ME AND BROKE BOTH OF MY AXES WHILE TRYING TO GET INTO THE SEIREITEI TO STOP AN EXECUTION! I WILL NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS WITH ONLY A FEW FRIENDS AND A HIGH CHANCE OF DEATH AGAINST THE POWERFUL CAPTAINS! NOR WILL I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THE FIGHT WITH CAPTAIN ZARAKI ALMOST KILLED HIM OR ABOUT HOW-"

**"JIDANBOU!" **Goro yelled in a powerful and strange voice that seemed to boom and echo through the very being of everyone present and make the trees and houses tremble.

"I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?" the giant asked in a timid voice while seeming to shrink down at the heavy silver aura that Goro was emitting.

"Yes, you did," Goro said, calming down. _Keep it in check, keep it in check..._

"Goro?"

The said man froze. Then he turned around slowly to face Masaki, whose expression was something between confusion, betrayal, sorrow, and regret.

"No, never mind. Jidanbou? Can you tell me what exactly happened while my son was in the Seireitei?"

"YOU ARE ICHIGO KUROSAKI'S MOTHER!?"

"Yes. I want to know why that is such a big surprise to everyone and what _exactly_ happened while I was away."

"Umm... I'm not a very good explainer Mrs. Kurosaki, but I have book that you can read that will tell you all you need to know!" Jidanbou smiled and looked hesitantly at Goro for approval, but he just gripped his forehead and then let his hand slide down his face.

"Thank you very much, gatekeeper," Masaki smiled at Jidanbou, who blushed and rubbed his head before opening the gate for the two... were they companions anymore? They passed through in silence and Masaki opened the book that the giant had given her. In truth, she wasn't that mad, just troubled that her first friend in this strange world had lied to her about her own son. She didn't know how exactly to react, because it had been so long since she had ever been the least bit troubled about anything outside of being a mother to her wonderful children. As she looked at the Table of Contents, she noted that what Goro had told her wasn't a complete lie, he had informed her on all the events but had failed to include the danger factor, and had watered everything down. Speaking of which...

"Goro?" she asked again, one word carrying a mountain of questions, but no longer any bad feelings. Then suddenly the man stopped and hit the ground with his hands and knees.

"I'm so sorry Miss! I shouldn't have lied, it was a terrible thing to do and I'm so sorry, but it wouldn't do for a newly arrived soul to worry about their past life before getting to it and I'm so sorry and-"

"Goro it's fine, please stand up, one friend shouldn't bow to the other," she said hurriedly. Why should he be on the ground!? Goro stood up and looked at her wonderingly. Who knew anyone could be so quick to forgive?

"I'm sorry Miss."

"I forgive you Goro. I know your intentions were good. Now let's just be friends again, okay?"

"Okay Miss," he said. Masaki was a kind woman and mother. The two souls walked on and chatted like nothing happened for a couple minutes before they literally ran into their first captain.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**They're in the Seireitei and soon they won't be the only ones. Goro's backstory will come in sometime, just not in this chapter. And remember! There's no romance in here (outside of families) so Goro and Masaki are just good friends, and that's not changing. I don't know if I missed anything or if I need to correct anything, so...**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**In case you haven't already, check out my other story Visions. It's a little shaky in the beginning since it's the first fic I ever wrote, but things stabilize and get good around chapter 7 (the chapters are kinda short too). Also check out my community where I put the best fanfics. The list is much shorter than my favorites list. Thanks, and here's the new, and longer chappie (not the rabbit)! :)**

**By the way, I feel so proud when I see how many people are following this. Thank you all.**

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: The two souls walked on and chatted like nothing happened for a couple minutes before they literally ran into their first captain.

It's not like they hadn't been looking ahead, Masaki and Goro had just rounded a corner at the same time as the captain, and they hadn't seen each other. It was a particularly hard impact since the Rukon souls were running at the same speed as the captain when they hit him. He was a white haired man who immediately began coughing harshly while his brown haired companion rushed over to him at the same time as Masaki.

"Are you all right!? Oh my, that's a serious cough you have there. Take my handkerchief," Masaki said worriedly while the captain graciously accepted her gift, his friend holding his shoulders while the coughing fit subsided.

"I must admit, I haven't seen you around here before and you certainly don't look like a soul reaper," the brown haired one with the hat and the pink coat observed as he looked at her unfamiliar face and her clothes that had transferred over from the World of the Living.

"Oh yes, I'm pretty new here, I just got here a few days ago and I've been travelling with my friend Goro to get here."

"So you're from the Rukon? How did you get past Jidanbo? The only other person to do that was..." the white haired one trailed off.

"Ichigo, right?" Masaki piped up.

"Yes exactly, I'm not surprised you know. But Jidanbo is strong, and if you'll pardon my saying, you two don't seem as if you could-" he broke off abruptly and started coughing again into the handkerchief, but more so than before. Little spots of blood dotted the previously white material.

"Sorry you two, but I need to get my friend here to the Fourth division barracks. Stay here, we're not suspicious of you now but if you move we will have to consider you intruders, and we wouldn't want to do that now would we?" The man paused. "If we don't come back in 10 minutes ask around for captains Ukitake and Kyoraku," and with that, they blurred from view and disappeared.

"Goro, those were captains? I thought they were supposed to be dangerous, but they seemed awfully nice."

"Ooooh, don't let that fool you miss. They are plenty dangerous when they want to be."

"So should we wait here until they get back?"

"Probably," Goro said. Then he sighed as the first thing Masaki did was start reading chapter one of her new book.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Recap: "Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, we need to get going to the soul society right away."

"To the _Soul Society_?" Karin looked at her father. "You really aren't kidding are you," Karin said seeing the seriousness in his face and finishing her sentence quietly in a not-question.

"Not at all Karin," Isshin said as he jumped out of his body and stuck his sword into the air, turning it to open a senkaimon. For one moment, the four just stared at the light coming out of the doors, trying to wrap their minds around the thought that the heart of their family still existed. Then, finding that it was impossible to comprehend this, they shook their heads and walked forward, resolving not to believe in false hope until it was confirmed. They would confront their thoughts later.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"You know Goro, some of this information isn't true. Here, in the introduction it says that, 'Mr. Kurosaki was a completely crazy idiot who punched and/or kicked his son Ichigo every morning to hone his reflexes.' It's obviously been exaggerated to great proportions, my husband never did that! I mean he is a goofball, but seriously..." Masaki shook her head and continued reading while Goro hid a smile. It was quite fun to see Masaki reading about the events that occurred while she was out. She was still thinking and remembering in the past so it was like she was reading about the future.

"Miss, the information in that biography was collected by trusted sources and in some cases the family themselves, so I don't think there's any false statements in there."

"If you say so, but-"

"We're back!" a voice rang out. "I hope we didn't keep the young lady or her companion here too long."

"Oh we didn't mind the wait at all, it gave me more time to read the book that Jidanbo gave me, Captain..."

"Kyoraku, but you two can call me Shunsui. Formalities were never my thing," Shunsui replied.

"So then you must be Captain Ukitake," Goro said referring to the the white haired captain who was no longer coughing.

"Yes I am, nice to see you remembered. So let's get right to the point here, who are you two?"

"Oh my name's just plain old Goro, and my companion right there is-" Goro broke off as his head started pounding. Silver wisps started rising from his kneeling form and he could barely hear Masaki and the two captains calling to him. He could only hear one voice.

_Let me out and at 'em! I haven't gotten ANY good fights since you started travelling with that woman. I WANT TO KILL ALL OF THEM!_

_No! I'll fight you later. But please not now, I have a mission to help this woman, to help my friend! _Goro replied in his mind.

_Do you honestly think I give a crap? HUH!? GET IN HERE AND FIGHT ME OR I'LL COME OUT AND FIGHT YOU! Or would you rather I came and killed someone else on your end..._

_No! Okay, okay, I'll fight you, but please not now. I'm in the middle of- _Goro felt a tug on top of panic as he was pulled into his inner world. He didn't have time for this! He opened his eyes to the familiar sight of dozens of crowded little huts with red roofs, yellow walls, bluish-white windows, and a stylistic appearance, almost like they had been painted with watercolors. He was standing about twenty feet above them on air and looking from a bird's eye view. A mile to his left there was a fog of pure black, growing and advancing ever so slowly. Directly in front of him was a person.

The person was a man, but he didn't have the stereotypical giant muscles and square chin. Instead he had a pointed chin a lanky frame. He had red skin the color of blood and long ivory hair tied into a low ponytail. His eyes were a deep green and they had fangs about and inch long. The only things he wore were a sleeveless ripped black robe and a sword in a gray scabbard, and he was barefoot.

Goro looked upon this man and was hit by sorrow. Once upon a time, they would have had so much fun killing and slaughtering hollows together along with any weak soul reapers that got in their way. But Goro had changed, and this man had not. Goro would "communicate" with him every day, aka fight him so he wouldn't go on a rampage inside Goro's soul. But then Masaki had come, and Goro had forgotten about his partner until meeting Jidanbo. He'd made up his mind to confront him later, but he'd procrastinated, and now he was being forced to fight him.

"Stop staring into the distance like that, you coward!"

Goro snapped back to reality and looked at the man again. "Satsujin, it's been a while-"

"Don't give me that crap Goro, you've been avoiding me. But I don't care, I just need this one fight until..." the zanpakuto smiled. "Never mind, you don't need to know right now. At this moment, all you have to do is FIGHT ME!" Satsujin screeched as he flew at Goro.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Goro! GORO!" Masaki shook her companion. He was passed out on the ground while silver wisps of spirit energy continuously evaporated from him.

"I think we should get your companion to the fourth division right away," said Jushiro. "Come with us, Shunsui will carry him."

"I will?"

"Yes, please help him!"

"I guess I don't have a choice since you asked so nicely," Captain Kyoraku said as he hefted Goro onto one shoulder. The three ran to the fourth division with the Captains leading the way and making sure not to flash-step so they wouldn't lose the woman behind them. When they arrived, a kind lady who introduced herself as Captain Unohana took Goro into a special room, asking the three who came with him to stay outside. She looked curiously at Masaki for a split second before disappearing into the room. After a bit of silence, Captain Ukitake spoke up.

"Don't worry about your companion. Captain Unohana is the best healer in the entire Soul Society, so he'll be fine."

"I'm sure he will. Oh, and thank you very much for your help. I realize that captains as important as you didn't have to escort Goro to this place at all but you did anyway."

"Ah don't mention it," Captain Kyoraku said. "But you have a point, normally we wouldn't have cared. But something was bugging us about you two, especially you, and we didn't know what."

"Shunsui's right, you remind of us someone. We didn't catch your name earlier, could you tell us?"

"Of course, I'm sorry it was rude of me. My name is Masaki Kurosaki."

"Kurosaki? Are you in any way related to Ichigo?"

"You could say that, since he's my son," Masaki said as she returned to her book. She missed the shocked looks that both captains gave her and each other. She also missed the hell butterfly that they sent out of the window in the direction of the Head Captain.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Captain Unohana frowned. This man's spirit energy was acting very strangely, it was his own but it seemed to be fighting against him, like a part of himself was no longer united with him and was turning on him. If that was the case, then it was some sort of problem in his inner world that she could not interfere with. The only option was the keep watch over this man until the conflict was resolved. As Captain Unohana thought this over, Goro was battling his zanpakuto in his inner world.

_Ha! I'm almost ready now, _Satsujin thought as he continued to slash at his master. _No, former master,_ he corrected himself. Then he suddenly smiled, much to Goro's confusion.

"I think I'm ready to get out of this dump!" the zanpakuto said. Goro was only confused further.

"What do you mean?"

"Ha, you really don't know, do you? The only reason I've wanted to fight you is so that I can get stronger. Strong enough to manifest myself into the outer world, and destroy and kill to my heart's content! Just like the old days, before you turned into a mushy coward!" He snarled.

"But that's- that's impossible!"

"Not for me it isn't. And you have no idea who I'm going to kill first," Satsujin smirked, and he vanished.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Wow, that came out fast. Review to tell me if I missed anything and/or just review in general! :)**


End file.
